Overview
It can be said that Liverpool is facing many difficulties. They have only won two of their last 8 matches in all competitions since the beginning of March (1 draw, 5 losses). And the Merseyside team has lost all 3 recent matches with a total score of 1-8.
After the 0-4 defeat to Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter-finals last weekend, Liverpool's poor performance continued in the middle of the week. The 0-2 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals caused The Kop to record the lowest expected goal score (xG) under Arne Slot. Former defender Jamie Carragher even said that the Dutch coach made a serious mistake in this match.
Liverpool also lost 1-2 to Brighton in their most recent Premier League match before the international break. Since round 6 (September 27), the defending champion under Slot has lost more than won (10 losses, 9 wins), with 11 teams scoring more points than them (34 points) in the same period.
Luckily for Liverpool, fifth place is still enough to win a ticket to the UEFA Champions League next season. Currently they are fifth with 7 remaining rounds, 5 points behind Aston Villa and only 3 points ahead of Everton.
Liverpool will return to Anfield this weekend, where they have only lost one of their last 13 matches in all competitions (8 wins, 4 draws). However, The Kop have not won in their last three encounters with Fulham in the Premier League (2 draws, 1 loss), and only once have they had a longer winless streak against this opponent (4 matches in the 1966-1967 period).
On the opposite side, Fulham is showing improvement. After starting 2026 with only two wins in 8 matches, Marco Silva's team has won 3 in the last 5 matches (1 draw, 1 loss), including a 3-1 victory over Burnley.
Only 4 teams have won more points than Fulham in the last 6 rounds (10 points), while they are also one of the teams that earns points well from being led.
Currently ranked ninth, Fulham still hopes to win a ticket to European cups for the first time since the 2011-2012 season. They are only two points behind the top 7 and five points behind Liverpool, in the context of the season still 7 rounds away.
However, away form is a big problem. Fulham is 5th in home record (29 points) but only 17th when playing away from home, with 15 points after 15 matches (4 wins, 3 draws, 8 losses).
History also does not favor Fulham. They have only won 2 out of 32 away games at Anfield in the Premier League (8 draws, 22 losses). If they want to create a surprise, the London team needs to improve their ability to play at the end of the match.
Notably, Fulham is one of the teams that scored the most goals in the last 20 minutes of this season (18 goals, equal to Liverpool). However, Liverpool also conceded 18 goals in that period - the most in the league.
Personnel situation
4 Liverpool players including Alisson Becker (muscle), Wataru Endo (ankle), Conor Bradley (knee) and Giovanni Leoni (front cruciate ligament) are still out of action to continue recovering from injuries.
On Fulham's side, Kevin (leg injury) is still absent along with Kenny Tete (ankle) and Harrison Reed (knee). Meanwhile, center-back Calvin Bassey (back) is expected to be fit enough to start.
Expected lineup:
Liverpool: Mamardashvili, Frimpong, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson, Gravenberch, Jones, Salah, Szoboszlai, Wirtz, Ekitike.
Fulham: Leno, Castagne, Andersen, Bassey, Robinson, Berge, Iwobi, Wilson, King, Bobb, Jimenez.
The match between Liverpool and Fulham takes place at 11:30 p.m. on April 11 (Vietnam time).
